BenRiach acquires Glendronach from Chivas Brothers

The BenRiach Distillery Company has purchased the Glendronach Distillery from Chivas Brothers, the Scotch whisky business of Pernod Ricard, for an undisclosed sum.

The BenRiach Distillery Company has purchased the Glendronach Distillery from Chivas Brothers, the Scotch whisky business of Pernod Ricard, for an undisclosed sum.

The acquisition is the first for the BenRiach distillery, which says it intends to re-package and re-launch the Glendronach brand. BenRiach already produces a range of Speyside single malt whiskies and was acquired itself in 2004 from Chivas Brothers, by an independent partnership comprising master blender Billy Walker, formerly operations director of Burn Stewart, and South African whisky entrepreneurs Geoff Bell and Wayne Kieswetter.

"We hope our acquisition of Glendronach will intrigue, surprise and delight whisky connoisseurs around the world," said Walker.

"BenRiach is going for growth and the purchase of Glendronach was too good an opportunity to miss. The distillery has a long and distinguished history and is an excellent fit with the existing BenRiach portfolio.

"Glendronach is a bit of a sleeping giant and was not part of Chivas's expansion plans for the future. But we have great plans for it in our markets in the UK, Germany, USA, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, Russia, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, France, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and China, amongst others.

"We're looking forward to breathing new life into it and giving it the attention and commitment it deserves."

The Glendronach Distillery produces a series of single malt whiskies ranging in age from 12 to 33 years old, and currently has the capacity to produce 1.4 million litres of whisky a year.